ScriptLogic's Active Administrator 4.0 Provides Administrators With Dramatic Advances in Active Directory Management

Business Wire, June 6, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- New Functionality Includes Object-Level Backup and Restore, Self-Healing Role-Based Permissions and Group Policy Offline Repository, Making Active Directory Easier to Manage, Control and Recover

ScriptLogic(R) Corporation (www.scriptlogic.com), a leader in network administration software for Microsoft(R) Windows(R)-based networks, today announced the availability of Active Administrator 4.0, a comprehensive management and auditing solution enabling administrators to efficiently manage Active Directory Security and Group Policy in Windows 2000 and 2003-based networks. ScriptLogic is demonstrating the new Active Administrator functionality at the Microsoft TechEd tradeshow, June 5-10 in Orlando, Fla.

Among the major new features, Active Administrator 4.0 now includes Object-Level Backup and Restore, whereby administrators can schedule backups of all Active Directory objects in a domain and take advantage of the highly granular selection of which objects and attributes to restore. This remarkable feature effectively provides Active Directory with an "undo" function, allowing IT administrators to recover from accidental deletions of Active Directory objects such as users, computers, groups or even entire Organizational Units. Active Administrator can also manage, search, back-up and restore all security information on objects within Active Directory.

"By listening to our customers, ScriptLogic has found they are crying out for a way to recover from deletions and accidental modifications of their Active Directory data--if there is a problem, they want to be able to get their old data back in a hurry," said Brian Styles, founder and CTO of ScriptLogic. "This type of functionality is what Active Administrator 4.0 is all about. Active Administrator's easy-to-use interface provides a central point of control for managing your Active Directory environment. With Version 4, ScriptLogic Corporation is giving administrators more of the functionality they need to harness, manage and audit Microsoft Active Directory."

Unsurpassed Active Directory Management with 4.0

One of Active Administrator's strengths is its Active Templates feature - collections of user permissions that simplify role-based delegation of authority to selected users. In Version 4.0, these Active Templates are now "self healing," meaning that if permissions assigned to a user with an Active Template are later modified or removed, the administrator can be alerted and/or the permissions automatically repaired.

In addition, IT administrators can now safely edit Group Policy Objects (GPOs) by first copying them into an Active Administrator's offline repository, where they can be edited without affecting the live environment. Offline GPOs can be included in a Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) analysis, which accurately simulates their effect on users and computers even while they are actually offline. Reports on offline GPOs and comparisons with their live counterparts can be performed before they are placed back into the live environment, optionally requiring the approval of a senior administrator.

"Like many consultants, Northwest Computer Support relies on the power of Active Directory to help our customers to manage user and computer accounts across their Windows network and control access to IT resources. The security of their Windows network and uptime of their users are business-critical, and germane to several C-level functions, such as compliance and infrastructure planning," said Tom Rash, president of Northwest Computer Support, a Certified ScriptLogic Partner based in Washington. "For these reasons, the enhancements provided by Active Administrator 4.0, including the reporting and back-up functions, are vital."

Active Administrator 4.0's new features take management of Active Directory to new levels of control and reliability, and answer some long-standing requests from Active Directory administrators and enterprise security specialists. Active Administrator retains its core strengths from previous versions: inspection, search and reporting on user permissions, extensive Group Policy lifecycle management, and comprehensive auditing and alerting on Active Directory events. Furthermore, with its extensive security reporting and auditing, and self-healing role-based permissions templates, Active Administrator also helps organizations achieve and demonstrate regulatory compliance.

Pricing and Availability

Active Administrator 4.0 is currently in beta and will be generally available within 30 days. At that time, a free 30-day evaluation of this product and all software solutions from ScriptLogic will be available at www.scriptlogic.com. The product is priced on a per-user basis with volume discounts available through ScriptLogic's global network of reseller partners.

About ScriptLogic

ScriptLogic Corporation is a worldwide leader in network administration software for Microsoft Windows-based networks. ScriptLogic's award winning suite of desktop, server, and Active Directory management products help empower network administrators to proactively save time, increase security, and maintain regulatory compliance. With more than 14,000 customer installations that include more than 3.2 million desktops and 86,000 servers, ScriptLogic solutions benefit any size network in any industry. ScriptLogic is a privately held company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. Reach ScriptLogic at (561)886-2400 or on the Web at www.scriptlogic.com.